Location-based open social networks

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for open social networks configured for a location or a region. The social networks are arranged accessible to all users via an interactive map or a website link. In one aspect, user numbers or post quantities are displayed beside network icons on a map. In another aspect, posts generated by local and remote users are presented in separate windows. In yet another aspect, social networks are searchable via keywords or category in a map setting. Moreover, for a given period of time, a requester continuously receives contents presented at a social network which has the most users.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/226,924, filed Aug. 3, 2016.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not applicable

BACKGROUND Field of Invention

This invention relates to social network, and more specifically, to opensocial networks based upon location.

Description of Prior Art

A social networking system provides an online service, platform, orwebsite that implements social networks, where users may share news,information, ideas, or feelings. A social networking environment ismostly web-based, and it enables users to interact with each other overthe Internet, via online posts, instant or short messages, tweets, oremails. As smartphone system supports social networking environment andmany users have a smartphone, social networks may be used as a newcommunication platform for almost all situations.

For instance, communication via social networks may complementface-to-face conversation among unknown users at a location. When a useris at a shopping mall, the user may want to exchange info with someonein there. When a user is at a train station, the user may want to knowwhat happened when a train is delayed. A user may look around and findsomeone to ask a question. Alternatively, a user may post a question ina social circle designated to the location. For some, the latter may beeasier to do, since it rids a user of shyness, awkwardness, and possibleembarrassment. For a business, the latter provides another channel tocommunicate with customers aside from telephone, website, and email.

When a social network is employed as a contacting or communicationplatform, the openness and ease of use become important. But many socialnetworks are exclusive, need to be found, and require registration oreven a qualification process for enrollment.

Therefore, there exists a need for social network that is open, easy tofind, and easy to access.

The word “post” as verb or “posting” is referred broadly as transmittinginformation from a user to a server via a communication network to letothers in a certain environment, such as a social networking circle,access the transmitted information. The word “post” as noun includesinformation posted or submitted by a user on the Internet, or usergenerated content on the Internet or in any network. Posted informationor contents may cover a hyperlink or a uniform resource locator (URL),audio, video, an image, a text, a message, an e-mail, news article, blogentry, survey, etc. Posts are preferably hosted on a web site, but mayalso be hosted locally using local database or a local server system. Indiscussions below, messages, besides posts, are used sometime. “Message”as noun is considered equivalent to post.

Objects and Advantages

Accordingly, several main objects and advantages of the presentinvention are:

-   -   a). to provide improved location-based open social networks;    -   b). to provide such social networks which are open to all users;    -   c). to provide such social networks which display messages from        a given time slot;    -   d). to provide such social networks which maintain message        quantity on display below a given limit;    -   e). to provide such social networks which provide separate        presentation windows for local and remote users;    -   f). to provide such social networks which are searchable via        keywords or category in a map setting;    -   g). to provide such social networks which show the number of        users who are accessing a network and/or the number of posts        which are published in a network; and    -   h). to provide such a social network system which provides a        user contents presented at a network that has the most        participants.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the drawings and ensuing description.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the present invention, methods and systems areproposed for location-based open social networks which are easy to findand easy to access. No registration procedures are needed for networkenrolment. In one embodiment, being there enables a user to discover andaccess location-based networks easily. Meanwhile, all online users haveaccess to location-based networks via an interactive map or a websitelink. In another embodiment, the user number or post quantity of anetwork is displayed to help a user select a network. For users whoprefer controlled network contents, a limit on message quantity may bearranged, or a time period may be chosen. Users are also able to searchfor network on a map directly using keywords or category. In addition,messages from local and remote users are presented in different windowson screen for the convenience of viewing local info. Moreover, uponrequest, a user receives continuously for a given period of timecontents presented at a popular social circle which has the mostparticipants.

DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram describing a user device embodimentin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flow diagram showing an embodiment of arrangingand accessing a social network in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graphic diagram showing an embodiment of circle appinterface, where social circles appear on map automatically inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are exemplary flow diagrams showing embodiments ofarranging and accessing a social network in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow diagram which illustrates management ofsocial network in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 use an exemplary flow diagram and an exemplary graphicdiagram to show embodiments of post management in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 uses graphic diagrams to show network access using an interactivemap in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are graphic diagrams which show two embodiments ofcircle app interface, where certain status of social circle is presentedin a map setting in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 12 and 13 are graphic diagrams which show two embodiments ofcircle app interface, where options are presented in a map setting inaccordance with the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

10 Camera 12 Device 14 Processor 16 Computer Readable Medium 18 GPSSensor 20 NFC Sensor 22 Device 24 Screen 26 Smartphone 28 User Device 30Screen 32 User Device 34 Screen 36 Device 38 Screen 40 Device 42 Screen44 Button 46 Button 48 Button 50 Button 52 Button 54 Button 56 Button 58Button 60 Window 62 Window 64 Button 66 Button 68 Button 70 Icon 72Window 74 Button 76 Button

100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 124, 126, 128,130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144, 146, 148, 150, 152, 154, 156,158, 160, 162, 164, 166, 168, 170, 172, 174, 176, 178, 180, 182, 184,and 186 are exemplary steps.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following exemplary embodiments are provided for complete disclosureof the present invention and to fully inform the scope of the presentinvention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is notlimited to the schematic embodiments disclosed, but can be implementedin various types.

A social networking environment may involve a networking system andmultiple user devices. A networking system may contain multiple servers.User devices and network system are connected via communicationnetworks. One or more social networks may be implemented or administeredby the networking system in the environment.

The word “server” means a system or systems which may have similarfunctions and capacities as one or more servers. Main components of aserver may include one or more processors, which control and processdata and information by executing software, logic, code, or storedexecutable instructions, or carrying out any other suitable functions. Aserver and/or processor, as a computing device, may include anyhardware, firmware, software, or a combination. In the most compactform, thanks to the advance of microelectronic technologies, a servermay be built on a single processor chip.

A networking system may enable and implement various types of socialnetworks serving a great number of users. It may exemplarily be dividedinto three blocks, represented by server, database, and router andswitch. A server may comprise one or more servers processingapplications, web applications, images, emails, networking, searchingtasks, etc. The database may store data associated with users, networks,servers, and various services. Router and switch may transmitinformation packets between a user device and a networking system overcommunication networks and work as a gatekeeper to and from thenetworks. As social networks may involve a tremendous amount of data,which may be uploaded and aggregated by networking systems continuously,a separate database system may be created. A database system may includea large number of storage devices or modules and specialty servers fordata management and maintenance.

FIG. 1 is an illustrative block diagram of one embodiment according tothe present invention. A device 12 may represent a user device or awireless electronic device, including but not limited to mobile phone,smart phone, smart watch, other wearable device, handheld computer,tablet computer, desktop computer, virtual reality (VR) device,augmented reality (AR) device, and the like. Device 12 may include aprocessor 14 and computer readable medium 16. Processor 14 may mean oneor more processor chips or systems. Medium 16 may include a memoryhierarchy built by one or more memory chips or storage modules like RAM,ROM, FLASH, magnetic, optical and/or thermal storage devices. Processor14 may run programs or sets of executable instructions stored in medium16 for performing various functions and tasks, e.g., surfing on theInternet, placing phone calls, logging on a website, playing video ormusic, gaming, electronic payment, social networking, sending andreceiving emails, short messages, files, and data, executing otherapplications, etc. Device 12 may also include input, output, andcommunication components, which may be individual modules or integratedwith processor 14. Communication components may connect the device to aserver or another device via a communication network. Usually, Device 12may have a display (not shown in FIG. 1 for brevity reason) and agraphical user interface (GUI). A display may have liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) screen, organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen(including active matrix OLED (AMOLED) screen), or LED screen. A screensurface may be sensitive to touches, i.e., sensitive to haptic and/ortactile contact with a user, especially in the case of smart phone,tablet computer, smart watch, and certain wearable devices. A touchscreen may be used as a convenient tool for a user to enter input andinteract with a system. Furthermore, device 12 may also have a voicerecognition component for receiving verbal command or audio input from auser. For VR and AR devices and some wearable devices, a virtual screenor screen having a very small size may be arranged. While it isinconvenient or impractical to touch such a screen, verbal command andgesture instructions may become useful for users.

A communication network which device 12 may access may cover a range ofentities such as the Internet or the World Wide Web, a local areanetwork (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a telephone network, an intranet, wireless, and other types ofnetworks. Device 12 may be connected to a network by various wired,wireless, optical, infrared, ultrasonic or other communication means.Via communication networks, device 12 may communicate with a remoteserver of a networking system or service center to send and receive dataor messages.

Device 12 may include a camera sensor 10. Sensor 10 may be a regularphone camera module used by users to take pictures in daily life. Thecamera sensor may be arranged to scan quick response (QR) code,one-dimensional barcode, or any other machine-readable code with thehelp of certain application. QR code or barcode may be printed out anddisplayed for public use easily.

Device 12 may include a global positioning system (GPS) 18. Sensor 18may enable a device to get its own location info. Besides GPS, devicelocation may also be obtained using wireless triangulation methods, orother suitable technology, which may be prepared by a service provideror on-site service facility. Usually for indoor or some urbanenvironment, positioning methods other than GPS are used, since GPSrequires a clear view of the sky or clear line of sight for four GPSsatellites.

Furthermore, device 12 may have near-field communication (NFC)capability enabled by NFC sensor 20. NFC is of short-range wirelesscommunication technology and may be employed to communicate securelybetween NFC devices. Sensor 20 may also be used to read radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) tag. RFID is also a wireless technology for thepurpose of transferring data, such as identification data, passively oractively. A RFID chip or RFID tag may be made very small in size, e.g.,smaller or much smaller than one millimeter. It may be manufactured bysemiconductor technologies. In application, a RFID tag may beconveniently placed, for instance, on a table or wall for public use.

Inside device 12, output signals of sensors may be transmitted toprocessor 14, which, employed with certain algorithm, may process thedata and act according to predefined programs. For instance, processor14 may process data from NFC sensor 20, transmit certain messages to anetworking system or service center, and then waiting for instructionsor new messages from the system or center.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram showing one embodiment of arrangingand accessing a location-based open social network. Assume that a socialnetwork or social networking circle is established for Place A byservice center in Step 100. The social circle is open to all userswithout any need of invitation, recommendation, verification, andregistration. A user has several options to access the circle. In Step102, a user may tap an interactive icon on a map presented on atouch-sensitive screen. The icon may bear name of the circle or theplace. Once the icon is tapped, a user enters the circle and a circleinterface shows up on the screen in Step 112. A user may also access asocial circle via traditional method, i.e., by finding and tapping alink representing the circle in Step 106.

For location-based networks, being there at the place may be utilized toprovide ease and convenience for finding and accessing a correspondingsocial circle. In Step 104, assume a user arrives at Place A, which maybe detected by GPS, the triangulation method, or other techniques. Theuser starts a circle app at a user device. A circle app may mean anapplication which implements social circle functions, instructs a userdevice to obtain data, and assists a user to find, access and performtasks in social circles. Next the device sends the user's location datato service center, which in turn gets info about a social circle createdfor the place. Service center sends circle info to the device and acircle icon appears on a device screen in Step 108. The user sees thecircle icon and then taps it in Step 110. Almost instantly, the userenters or accesses the circle in Step 112. After a user opens a circleapp at a place, a social circle related to the place may be presented onscreen right away. So, a user may just need to recognize a circle iconand tap on it to access the circle. The process to find and access asocial circle is straightforward, simple, and easy.

FIG. 3 is a graphic diagram showing the interface of a circle appschematically. Assume that a device 36 has a touch-sensitive screen 38.After a user launches a social networking app, device 36 startscontacting service center and transmits location info. Service centerreceives the info, retrieves from database circle information related touser location, and then sends it to device 36. Once circle informationis obtained, it is presented in the app interface. As in the figure,interactive icons “Fresh Mart Circle”, “Stadium Circle”, and “UnionSquare Circle”, and user's own location are displayed on a map. Thecircles may correspond to a store, a stadium, and a public squarerespectively. Circle icons may be placed at each circle's location on amap. Circle location may be a location or place which is determined whena circle is generated. When an entity has a physical location, thelocation may be assigned to a circle of the entity and be called thecircle's location. For instance, location of Fresh Mart Circle is of thestore site and location of Stadium Circle is of the stadium. A user maysimply and conveniently tap a circle icon to log in a circle. It isnoted that a circle icon on a map may be found and accessed by a userfrom a remote place. For instance, a user may log on the website ofservice center, retrieve a map, zoom in to see a place, and then find atarget circle icon around the place. Then, the user may tap the icon toenter the circle. In another embodiment, the map mode of interface maybe replaced by the textual mode, where a list containing circle iconsmay be presented. For instance, after a user opens a circle app, circleinfo may be retrieved from service center and presented by a list ofcircle icons on screen. Next, a user may choose and tap an icon to entera circle.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic flow diagram of accessing social network.Assume that a user arrives at a place and launches a circle app in Step114. Next, user device, service carrier, or on-site facility starts tocollect location data in Step 116. Depending on program setting, a usermay register a place via various ways, since there are severaltechnologies available for location detection. “Register” as a verbmeans a user causes submission of location records to service centeractively or passively to provide evidence of being present at a place.

In Step 118, positioning technique such as GPS or the triangulationmethod is used to get user location automatically and directly. GPSmethod requires a GPS sensor, such as sensor 18 of FIG. 1, while thetriangulation method may be conducted by an on-site facility or awireless service carrier.

In Step 120, RFID technology is used. A RFID tag may be displayed forpublic use at a place. If a user device has a NFC sensor, like sensor 20of FIG. 1, a user may swing the device in front of a RFID tag to readit. A RFID tag may contain location info and link data so that it mayassist a user device to log in a social circle directly. Alternatively,a RFID may be designed as a location indicator, that is, the tag onlyprovides location data to a user device. The user device then sends thedata to service center to let the center know where a user is.

Step 122 introduces QR code method, which works in a way similar toRFID. The code may contain login instructions for a circle or just infoof a location. As a location indicator, RFID tag and QR code may provideprecise geographic information. They are especially useful whenpositioning method is not available, not preferred due to privacyconcerns, or not precise enough. But RFID and QR-code methods are notautomatic and they require a user to take action, either swiping adevice in front of a tag or aiming at and scanning a QR code.

A user's location may also be determined by a user himself or herselfvia a verbal method as in Step 124. With voice recognition technology, auser may speak to a device the name of a place or a venue. The verbalmethod is not only useful, but also convenient, as saying a word or afew words is all it takes.

Step 126 employs a map method. The method is convenient for on-siteusers when user location is not precise. For instance, when userlocation can't be determined accurately enough and there is no RFID tagor QR code printout in sight, a user may open a circle app and selectmap mode. Next, an interactive map may appear on screen. A user maysearch the map and find a spot of interest. The user then taps the spot,which may be designed as a confirmation act to specify location ofinterest.

Once a user's location info is obtained, it is sent to service center inStep 128. The center then decides which social circle should bepresented to a user based on location data and predeterminedarrangement. It may be designed that a location-based open social circlehas a defined geographic coverage or a designated geographic circlearea. The shape and range of a designated circle area may be defined byservice centre or proposed by an entity which a circle is assigned to.When a circle area is submitted by an entity, service center mayevaluate it and approve it with changes or without any change. If auser's location is in a circle's designated area, the circle may beselected and presented to the user. Since social circles' designatedareas may overlap, a user may be located at a place claimed by multiplecircles. In such a case, multiple circles may be presented to the userfor selection.

Alternatively, a designated geographic user area or designated user areamay be defined. All social circles whose location is in a designateduser area may be considered relevant to a user and may be selected andpresented to the user. A designated user area may have any shape anddimension specified by service center or a user. For instance, adesignated user area may have a circular shape whose center is of auser's location. The circular area's radius may be defined by servicecenter as a default setting which may be adjusted by a user. Examples ofradius value include one mile to ten miles. If the radius is of onemile, social circles whose location is within a one-mile range may bechosen and provided to the user. It is noted that selected socialcircles may be presented in map or textual mode at a user device. In mapmode, a map is displayed which covers a designated user area. The mapmay have square, rectangular, or another shape. Circles may show up asinteractive icons on map. In textual mode, interactive circle icons mayform a list or appear on a list.

After obtaining info of social circles, service center sends it to auser device for presentation. In Step 130, a user ponders whether tovisit a circle while still at a place close to it. The user makes adecision, and accesses a circle in Step 134. When the user is busy, heor she may access a circle at a later time in Step 132. As circle infois received, it may be recorded at a user device. An interactive“History” button may be configured in circle app interface. Once a usertaps “History” button, circles encountered within a defined time periodin the past, e.g., three days or a week, may show up on screen. A usermay tap one circle to log in.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary flow diagram of accessing a social networkfrom another angle. In order to participate in activities oflocation-based social networking circles, a user may start by opening anaccount or subscribing networking service at service center in Step 136.The procedure may be required for users who want to issue post in socialnetworking circles. If a user is not registered, he or she may accesscontents of a social circle, but may not be allowed to post anything.Thus social circles discussed here are configured open to all users, butonly registered user may post messages. A circle app may be downloadedfrom the website of service center and installed at a user device.During app installation, a user may be asked to submit info such asname, email address, place of residence, and preferred user name. As aresult, service center may know a user's identity and other personalinfo, and thus may be able to help the user log in certain socialcircles without another round of registration process and without apassword. Consequently, a user may carry a user name registered atservice center and use it in various participating social circles. Thearrangement makes a social circle free of registration and in themeantime, a user doesn't need to create a user name for every circleencountered. When a user doesn't want to use a registered user name in asocial circle, the user may choose an option to get a temporary username assigned for use in that circle.

In Step 138, a user selects options of tracking scheme. As location datais a critical part of the social circle program, a user may decide whichdetection method would be employed. Location data contains sensitiveinformation, so some users may be concerned about privacy issues. Forinstance, some may not want service center to know all places he or shehas been to. As a result, automatic positioning methods like GPS and thetriangulation method may be turned off, while manual operation such asRFID, QR code, verbal, or map scheme may be selected, which meanslocation records are collected and reported only after a user initiatesit. In practice, a user may place a user device close to a RFID tag toread it, arrange a phone camera to aim at a QR code to scan it, speak toa user device, or tap a circle icon on a map. Next the user devicetransmits location info to service center. When the GPS method isselected and a GPS device is turned on, a circle app may acquirelocation info and send the user's location records to service centerautomatically, assuming the circle app is started already. Next, servicecenter may analyze the user's location records and obtain info ofsuitable location-based circle or circles. Circle info may betransferred to the user device subsequently. If triangulation or anotherpositioning technology such as ultrasonic method is selected, the user'slocation records may be collected and sent to service centerautomatically from a contracted service, still assuming a circle app ison. When a circle app is off and a user arrives at a place, a userdevice may not communicate with service center and submit or help submitlocation records. But a user may authorize service provider or servicefacility to collect his or her location records and transfer the recordsto service center. Thus whether a circle app is on or off, places may beregistered automatically.

In Step 140, a user selects regions of interest. As a user may pass manyplaces on a routine basis, a lot of social circles may be registeredregularly. A user may like some social circles and dislike some othercircles. So there is a need to avoid registering certain places andlimit the quantity of social circles in daily life. A user may singleout some places or regions and stay away from social circles associatedwith those locations. After a user delists a place to avoid it,corresponding social circles may not appear even the place is registeredby the user.

As a user goes out in Step 142, commuting to work or doing things afterwork, he or she may register places automatically or manually. Assumethat a user turns on a circle app and registered a place in Step 144.Then an icon of a social circle shows up in the app interface on adevice screen in Step 146. The social circle may represent a networkassigned to the place. After a while, if the user goes to another place,the original icon may be replaced automatically by another iconcorresponding to another social circle. In Step 148, the user taps anicon of a circle, which prompts the device to send a message to servicecenter. Service center then starts retrieving info of the circle andsends it to the device. In Step 150, response from service center isreceived and circle info is presented on the device screen. It may bedesigned that service center selects certain content based uponprearranged conditions and only sends selected posts to a user. Forinstance, assume a user device is set up to display twenty messages orless on screen at a time. Then service center retrieves and sends thelatest twenty or less messages each time. Quantity limit of message maybe arranged to make life less complicated. Service center may choose avalue as the limit or a user may have options to select a value. With aquantity limit, old messages are deleted automatically when new messagesare published. Thus content on a device screen may get updated by itselfonce new messages are received from service center. In Step 152, updateof circle content is performed.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of social network formation andadministration. Assume service center is in charge of social networkcreation and management. Service center may get connected to a userdevice via various communication networks. As a great number oflocations may be suitable for setting up social circles, it is up to thecenter to decide which location or region shall be chosen. Servicecenter may generate many social networks for many locationsrespectively. For a location, multiple networks may be created to coverdifferent time blocks such as consecutive days. Since an open networkdiscussed here may have unlimited time span, usually only one network isarranged for a location. Thus it may be configured that some selectedlocations each may be assigned a single social network only. Servicecenter may generate lots of networks matching lots of locations one byone. In Step 154, service center picks a location and announces creationof a social circle associated with the place publically. The locationmay be a subway station, a shopping mall, a public square, a sportsvenue, a park, or any other place where a crowd may gather. Asdiscussed, such a social circle is arranged accessible through severalmethods. Service center monitors presence of registered user at thelocation when permitted and records user's location info in Step 156.

In Step 158, service center receives a request for circle info from anon-site user, which may happen after the user launches a social circleapp at a user device and looks for available networks. The user'srequest and location info are passed to service center automatically.Service center performs a search based on info received to get circlesat and around the user location. Then in Step 160, the center sends oneor more circle names to the user device, which are presented on adisplay for the user to review. Next in Step 162, the center receivesselection info from the user, who taps a circle icon on screen. Assumethat service center has the info that the message quantity has a limitat the user device. In Step 164, service center retrieves the latestmessages, for instance, the latest twenty messages if the limit istwenty. The selected circle contents are transmitted to the user devicefor presentation in Step 166. After a while, new messages are posted inthe circle. Service center updates a message list while keeps themessage number below the limit in Step 168. Updated messages are sent tothe user device. The user device may display a fixed number of messages,while the newest messages replace the oldest ones continuously andautomatically.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic flow diagram to illustrate management of socialnetworking circle. As proposed, users may access a location-based socialcircle conveniently after arriving at and registering a place. Suchusers may be called “local users”, since they are there locally. Inaddition, an open circle may also be accessed by users who are notthere, whether registered or unregistered. These users may be called“remote users”. A remote user may be close to the place or thousands ofmiles away from it.

More specifically, it may be defined that a user is considered local fora networking circle if the user is physically located in the circle'srange or a designated circle area. On the other hand, when a circle'srange covers a user's location, the circle may be called the user's“local networking circle”. A designated circle area may be defined byservice center. The area may also be suggested by a user such as abusiness who requested to set up a circle for business use. Servicecenter may approve a user-requested circle area after evaluation. Adesignated circle area may have a circular shape centered at a spot witha given radius. The spot may be a business location if it is a businesscircle. Radius of the area may be of, for instance, a couple of miles ortens of miles. In addition, a designated circle area may have othershapes or irregular shapes depending on actual geographic anddemographic features. The shape and dimensions of a designated circlearea are editable or adjustable by service center. When a circlerepresents a business or entity, the business or entity may be allowedto edit or adjust the shape and dimensions of the designated circle areaunder certain conditions. After a user opens a circle app, servicecenter may get the user's location data and find local networkingcircles whose range or designated area covers the location.

When a user is located out of a designated circle area, the user may beconsidered as a remote user to a social circle; and at the same time,the social circle may be considered as a remote circle for the user.After a user opens a circle app at a device, the app interface may bedesigned to show circle info obtained from service center. Three optionsmay be arranged for presenting social circles. A user may choose one ofthem after entering “Edit” mode. In the options, circles presented mayinclude local circles only, circles within a designated user area only,or local circles plus remote circles which are relatively close to theuser's location in a predefined area. In the second and/or third option,icons of local circles may be arranged to have different color ordifferent appearance from remote circles for easy recognition. In acircle app interface, social circles may be presented by circle iconsorganized in a list or scattered on a map.

Both local and remote registered users may post messages in a socialcircle. When a great number of users actively participate in circleactivities, a large number of posts may be created. Thus there is a needto separate posts generated by local users and remote users.Location-based circle is related to a place, and thus it is likely thatinfo provided by local users may be more relevant and more appealing.When there are a lot of posts from remote users, further division may bearranged to avoid presenting too many posts in one window at a time. Forinstance, posts from remote users may be grouped by users' locations,such as regions or countries.

Moreover, it may be designed that all users have default invisible modeinitially. And a user may switch between invisible and visible mode. Theword “visible” may mean a user name or temporary user name shows up on acircle page after a user enters a circle so that other users may see it.For instance, if a user accesses a circle with visible mode, his or heruser name may be displayed on a list from a circle page which isaccessible to all users. After a visible user logs out or leaves circleinterface, name of the user is removed. On the contrary, the word“invisible” may mean one person's user name is not publicized in acircle. If a user is invisible in a circle, his or her user name doesnot appear on a member list when the user is visiting the circle andreading messages posted there. Thus users in a circle are not able tosee the user name of an invisible user and not able to know whether aninvisible user enters the circle. When a user is visible or invisible ina circle, the user may be considered in visible or invisible moderespectively. The word “mode” means a status or state of a user when theuser is in a circle. Location-based social circles proposed here areopen to all users. Most users in a circle may not know each other andmay not want to know each other for various reasons. Many users whoenter a circle may just want to see what other people talk about.Therefore, most users may prefer the invisible mode. But when a userposts a message, the message may show a user name or a temporary nameassigned for use in one circle only. A temporary name may be used toprotect user privacy when a user doesn't want to expose his or her username.

For location-based social circles, there are users who had registered aplace and may access a circle anytime, but never logged in. These usersare omitted here and not discussed. For unregistered users, it may bearranged that they are in the invisible mode all the time.

If a user enters a circle, but doesn't post any contents, the user maybe called “watcher”. In a sense, unregistered users are also watchers.When a registered user chooses to be a watcher, the user may like to bein the invisible mode, watching what happens in a circle quietly andstealthily. While watchers don't contribute to posts in a social circle,the circle may still benefit from them as watchers enhance the strengthof audience. When the audience is strong, a circle may attract moreusers, since many people have a tendency to see what a crowd paysattention to.

Back to FIG. 7. Assume that service center creates a social circle inStep 170. Next, the center decides whether to allow remote users toissues posts in the circle in Step 172. There might be differentarguments about posts generated by remote users. First, the number ofremote users may be unlimited, since any user may enter a circle, whichmay render too many posts for a viewer to handle. Second, remote usersare more likely to post irrelevant messages, causing distraction andannoyance. But interaction and info exchange between the local andremote users are important and encouraged in general. Therefore, it's upto service center to make a decision according to each case. If remoteusers are not allowed to post any, messages are generated by local usersonly, as in Step 174. If remote users are allowed to post contents,messages issued by local and remote users may be displayed togetheralong a time line. However, when many messages are posted, there is aneed to group messages to provide convenience for viewers. In Step 176,two message windows are arranged. All users may view the windows. Aftera user posts a message in Step 178, service center determines whetherthe poster is a local user or not in Step 180. If a poster is a remoteuser, the message is displayed in window B in Step 182, which is adedicated place for posts from remote users. If a poster is a localuser, the user may have two options in Step 184. The user may post it inwindow B, for interaction with remote users, or post it in window A tokeep conversation among local users in Step 186. Window A is arrangedfor publishing messages from local users only.

FIG. 8 depicts a schematic diagram of social circle interface. A userdevice 22 has a display screen 24. Screen 24 shows two windows in thesocial circle interface. A window on the left displays messages fromlocal users and the other on the right presents messages from both localand remote users. For a remote user, the window on the left is viewableonly. When messages from remote users reach a limit, they may be dividedfurther by user location. In case posts from remote users are grouped byuser location, a user may choose an option to display in the rightwindow messages from domestic remote users at one time, and frominternational users at another time. It may be designed that a messageposted in a circle shows the user name or temporary user name of theposter and the place where the poster is located. If a user doesn't wantto expose his or her location, the user may be considered a remote usereven when the user has registered a local place.

FIG. 9 uses graphic diagrams to show accessing a social circle throughan interactive map when a user location is only known roughly. Takesmartphone as a user device. Assume that a circle app is started at asmartphone 26. In the circle interface, a “Map” button may be configured(not shown in figure for brevity reason). When “Map” button isactivated, map mode takes over. A map with interactive icons or objectsappears on screen in Step 1. Alternatively, map mode may be arranged fora starting page of an app interface. Since the user location is unclear,a map in large scale may be presented. Next, a user double taps on ascreen spot to zoom in as depicted in Step 2. After zooming in, icons ofsome social circles show up on the map, including Circle 1, Circle 2,and Circle 3 at different places. These icons are interactive. In Step3, the user selects Circle 2 and taps its icon on screen. Then in Step4, the interface of Circle 2 appears on the screen of phone 26, whichalso means entry of the circle. Next, the user may view messages, postmessages, or do other things. Thus, it is seen that accessing a socialcircle is simple, easy, and convenient via a map. No registration. Nopassword. A user just starts a circle app on a site, opens aninteractive map, finds a place of interest, and taps on a circle icon toaccess a circle.

The screen view of map setting in FIG. 9 may be used as a starting pagewhen a user starts a circle app and the user location is not knownprecisely. With rough data of the user location, obtained from awireless service provider for instance, an area may be determinedapproximately. Thus a map may be presented showing an area which a usermay be in and may have interest. A user may select a circle on the mapright away or do it after zooming in. When the user location is known, apredetermined map area may be specified by service center, the circleapp, or the setup. The predetermined area may be of a designated userarea which is discussed above or may overlap a designated user area withcertain degree. For instance, if a designated user area is circular, amap may show the exact circular area or a square which covers thecircular area with close dimensions.

A map area in the starting interface may also be an area which is largeenough to include locations of local circles, where the designatedcircle area of each circle may cover the user's location. Setup of themap area in the starting interface may be edited by a user. Forinstance, a user may change the shape of the map area from square torectangular. After a map area is determined, service center may discoverall networking circles whose location is in the area and send circleinformation to the user for presentation. On the user device side, infofrom service center may be received and then displayed in the interface.For instance, a screen may show circle icons distributed on a map.Circle icons may contain a circle name and/or logo and be located at aplace close to the circle location on a map. Characteristic values of acircle may be added to an icon or placed beside it. The characteristicvalues may include the number of users who are currently logging in acircle and the amount of messages posted within a given time in acircle. Service center may arrange a default setting to show or not toshow a characteristic value in a starting interface. Options may bearranged for a user to change the setting. Thus, what may appear onscreen when a circle app is launched may be adjusted by a user. Besidesthe user number and message amount, a special on-screen label may beadded to a circle which has the most login users or most messages issuedwithin certain time. For instance, a user may select a function suchthat a circle icon may appear on screen with a label saying “Most Users”or “Most Messages” when a circle app is started or after a searchprocess is conducted. It makes it easy for a user to find out the mostactive circle.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show functions of social circle using exemplarydiagrams. When a user is at a location and wants to enter a circlerelated to the location, the user may log in the circle easily andconveniently as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. However, for a userstaying at home, there may be too many social circles to choose from. Itmay be hard and frustrating to search for an interesting and dynamicsocial circle. Therefore, there exists a need for service center toprovide tips to help users navigate among a great amount of socialnetworks.

In FIG. 10, a screen 30 of a user device 28 shows a map interface. Themap is interactive since it contains interactive icons or buttonsrepresenting links to social circles besides regular map symbols andlegends. On a map, an icon of a location-based circle may be configuredat or next to the circle's location. So a map may present the geographicdistribution of social circles visually. In the figure, “Map of City”shows three social circles exemplarily. The configuration has a title“Post Quantity”. Beside a circle icon, there is a number showing postquantity and a bar whose height reflects the quantity, which is thenumber of messages posted in a circle during a given period of time. Thetime period may be determined by service center with a value such aspast five to thirty minutes or even several days. It is seen thatCircles A, B, and C each have 20, 35, and 5 messages generated. Ascircles with more activities are more attractive, a user may chooseCircle A or B to join. The interface may be switched from a circle appinterface in textual mode. For instance, after a user taps “Map” buttonin a circle interface, a map may show up. Center of the map may be ofthe user's location. The map may be arranged to show one or more socialcircles which exist in the map area. Each social circle may berepresented by an interactive icon. When an icon is tapped or activated,a social circle interface may appear on screen 30, showing contents of asocial circle. A map may also contain other interactive iconsrepresenting website of a business, an organization, or an event whichis associated with a location in a map area. These features are oftenseen on a typical online map. But since a user may be more interested insocial circles, a “Circle Only” button may be arranged on screen. A usermay activate “Circle Only” button on a screen to show interactive iconsof social circles only, while other interactive icons and buttons may beremoved from the screen view. Info received from service center maycontain post quantity data to prepare for a user request. When a userwants to compare activities among circles on a map, the user may tap“Show Post Quantity” button. Then post quantity data is retrieved andquantity bars and numbers may emerge beside circle icons as in thefigure. While in map mode, a user may adjust map scale to view a largeror smaller region on screen.

FIG. 11 shows the same city map with the same social circles on a screen34 of a device 32. Instead of posts issued, number of users in eachcircle is presented by a label showing the number and a bar reflectingthe number. Users counted may include visible members, invisiblemembers, and unregistered users who are accessing a circle. Members meanregistered users here and unregistered users are arranged invisible. Theheight of a bar next to a circle icon reflects total number of userswhose device showing a circle interface while the users may do thingslike reading posts, writing messages, or checking around in the circle.When a circle attracts lots of users, it may be viewed as somethinginteresting may be happening. Thus for some users, it may be worth totake a look. A user may open a circle app, get in map mode, and then tap“Show User Number” button to have a map showing social circles alongwith a number and a bar representing each circle's user quantity. A usermay search new places by changing map scale or map area, tap an icon ofa popular circle which may host a large number of users, and then enterit to find out what is going on.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary circle app interface in map mode. Theinterface, presented on a screen 42 of a device 40, shows a map dottedwith social circles in a window 62. Assume that the app is called“Circle Master” and the map is called “Map of City”. There areinteractive buttons beside the map. A “Setup” button 44 is arranged forchanging conditions of the map, such as the size of the map area, theshape of the map, the scale of the map, the center of the map, thecircle category, one or more keywords, etc. A user may tap button 44 toopen a setup window where changes may be made. If the map in window 62only shows names and locations of social circles, a user may tap abutton 46. Then a number shows up beside each circle which is the numberof users who are currently accessing the circle. A user may also tap abutton 48 to see post quantities issued in each circle within a giventime period, which may be any value like between one hour to a couple ofdays or a even longer period. The post quantities may appear beside eachcircle on the map. When textual contents are needed, a user may tap abutton 50 to switch the interface from the map mode to the text mode.

Sometimes, a user may be interested in a social circle related to aparticular event, such as a famous festival, a major sports game, a bigceremony, a traffic incident, a weather phenomenon, breaking news ofother kinds, etc. Thus there exists a need to have a search function. Asearch may be carried out using keywords or category as search query.Keywords may include a name of a place, a symbol, one or more wordsassociated with a topic, etc. If a name of a place or a region issubmitted, service center may retrieve social circles at or around theplace or in the region only. Search results may be presented in textualor map mode. The textual mode, like the current search results, mayfeature a list of circles with a website link or a brief introduction toeach one. In the map mode, search results may be shown on a map, such ascircle icons scattered in a map area, as each location-based circle isrelated to a place. In the map mode, if a user changes a search query,different circles may show up at the same place or different locationson a map. So a user may use the search function to find desirable socialcircles in a region conveniently.

For ease of use, service center may categorize social circles or renamea circle temporarily. For instance, when there is no specific topic, acircle may belong to casual talk category; when a circle is related to aplace where a public event is happening or happened within a shortperiod of time and conversation in the circle is about the event, thecircle may belong to public event category for some time; when a circleis related to a place where breaking news is happening, the circle maybelong to breaking news category and be renamed after the breaking newstemporarily, such as “Grand Parade Circle”. Again, a user may select thetextual mode or map mode. When an event happens at a place and attractsattention around the world, users on the scene may log in a local circleand report what is happening, and users everywhere may find the circleand access it to learn the first-hand information from people in thefront.

Back to FIG. 12. A “Search” button 56 is arranged in the interface forenabling a search task. Once button 56 is activated, it prompts thecircle app to send a search request to search center. Beneath button 56,a “Category” button 58 is configured. A use may tap button 56 to see alist of categories and then select one to limit a search within thecategory. A user may also enter one or more keywords in an entry window60. When a user submits a new query except a location name, a map mayremain the same scale, while different social circles may appear at thesame or different places. Since the map scale may be adjusted to displaya smaller or larger area, it may be used as another query element in asearch process. Similarly, post quantity or user number may be utilizedas query element too. For instance, a user may key in “user number” or“post quantity” in entry window 60, and then tap button 56 to launch asearch. When a search is based on user number or post quantity, a givennumber of circles which have top user numbers or post quantities areretrieved and presented. The circles may come from all categories if thecategory limit is not entered.

Since users in an open social circle may not know each other, after theyleave the circle, they may not want to know what happened in the circle,like who posted what post. Hence, it may be designed that service centerwill not send to a user any message about activities in a social circleafter the user logs out of the circle. However, if a user does want tobe informed of what happened in a circle anytime, the user may tap a “Bea Follower” button 54, as displayed in FIG. 12. Once button 54 isactivated, a window appears where a user may select a social circle tofollow it. Following a circle or being a follower of a circle means auser gets a notification when there is one or more new posts issued inthe circle or other predetermined events occur. A follower must be aregistered user so that service center knows how to contact him or her.A follower may choose to be visible or invisible. Arrangement of thefollower serves two purposes.

First, some users may want to know the activities of a social circleafter they leave there. For instance, a popular social circle may haveloyal fans. Second, a user may enter a circle arranged for a location inorder to get info from someone. But sometimes, there may be no users whoare currently accessing the circle. For instance, a social circle of aremote small town may be empty without any users quite often. If thecircle of the small town has followers, a visitor may post a questioneven though there is no user there. And then a notification may be sentto the circle's followers. Hopefully, one of the followers may read thenotification and provide an answer to the question in time.

Since there may be a large quantity of open social circles, a user mayfind it hard to decide which circle is the best. Some users may log inseveral circles to try them out one by one. Some users may just want tojoin a circle which has the most users who are accessing the circle.Thus, a “Popular Now” button 52 may be configured on screen 42. After auser taps button 52, a request is sent to service center by the circleapp. The request contains info about an area defined by the user alongwith other conditions, such as a category or a keyword. For instance, ifa user John arranges an area in window 62, selects a category, andenters a keyword, the info is passed to service center. Next servicecenter may retrieve information on selected social circles which arerelated to the arranged area, such as circles whose locations are withinthe arranged area, belong to the selected category, and are related tothe keyword. The center then finds out which circle has the most usersor participants among the selected circles. A participant of a circlemay be a registered, unregistered, local, remote, visible, or invisibleuser who is accessing the circle or logging in the circle. Then servicecenter identifies a popular circle which has the most participants andsends to user John contents presented at the popular circle.

Service center may send contents of a popular circle, which has the mostusers, continuously for a given period of time. The contents may includeat least the main part which is presented at the popular circle so thata user may read posts just published, watch video clips just uploaded,or share a streaming event happening at the popular circle. A short timelike one to two minutes before the given period of time elapses, servicecenter may reevaluate the situation. If the previously popular circlestill has the most participants, contents presented at the circle may betransmitted to the user continuously for another round, i.e., anothergiven period of time. If it is detected that another circle has the mostparticipants now, service center may stop sending contents presented atthe previous popular circle at the end of the given period of time.Next, the center may send to the user contents presented at the newpopular circle for the given period of time. Hence, service center mayautomatically switch from one social circle to another one to send auser popular content among selected social circles continuously. Hence,a user may tap button 52 to view contents from a social circle which hasthe most participants currently and to view contents from another socialcircle which has the most participants at a later time.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary circle app interface on screen 42 ofdevice 40, which may show up when button 52 of FIG. 12 is tapped by auser or requester. Above a window 72, there is a title “PopularNow—Circle 3”. The title means that Circle 3 has the most users andwindow 72 is showing contents of Circle 3, which may be, for instance,streaming media, assuming that Circle 3 is a streaming platform. Theshow of streaming media may continue for a given period of time, forinstance, five to twenty minutes. After that, service center may keepsending contents presented at Circle 3 for another round, if Circle 3retains the most participants. If Circle 1 has the most participantsafter the given period of time, service center may start sendingcontents presented at Circle 1 and sending it continuously for the givenperiod of time.

If a user wants to stay with a circle which has the most participantscurrently, the user may tap a “Stay Here” button 64 on screen 42. Uponactivation of button 64, the circle app sends a message to servicecenter to request staying with the current circle. Then service centermay keep sending contents presented at the current circle for anunlimited period of time. On the other hand, if a user doesn't like thecurrent circle, the user may tap a “Switch Now” button 66. Then arequest is sent to service center by the circle app. After servicecenter receives the message that button 66 is activated, the center mayselect another circle, such as a circle with the second mostparticipants, and send contents presented at the circle to the user.

If a user wants to adjust the given period of time, he or she may tap a“Setup” button 68. Then a setup window may show up. The user may changethe given time period during which contents presented at a popularcircle are sent continuously.

In the setup window, the user may also change the category of socialcircles, the geographic area, one or more keywords entered previously, alist of unwanted circles, the size of window 72, and so on. A list ofunwanted circles may include circles which a user doesn't like and wantsto avoid. The geographic area may be adjusted by changing the centerlocation or the radius of a circular region. The geographic area mayalso be adjusted by changing the name of a city, a region, or a country.An option, such as “Select All Areas”, may be arranged which means allplaces are chosen, that is, the geographic area covers the whole world.After a user adjusts the geographic area, a new area is defined. Next, amessage is sent to service center to report the change by the circleapp. The center then retrieves social circles related to the new areaand subsequently determines a social circle which has the mostparticipants. Then the center starts sending to the user contentspresented at the circle that has the most participants. Similarly, whena category or keyword is changed, service center starts selecting newsocial circles, finds a new popular circle among the newly selectedcircles, and sends to a user contents presented at the new popularcircle.

In above discussions, it is assumed that social networks are locationbased. Alternatively, a check box may be arranged beside a “LocationBased Circles Only” sign in the setup window (Not shown in the figure).The check box may be checked in a default setting. If a user wants toinclude social circles which are not based on a location, the box may beunchecked. After the check box is unchecked, a social circle'sgeographic data becomes irrelevant. Resultantly, service center mayselect circles and determine a popular circle with the most users basedon limitations excluding geographic factors.

If service center detects that a previously popular circle no longer hasthe most users, contents presented at another circle which has the mostusers may be presented after a given period of time ends. The change ofsocial circle is performed automatically at service center. Before thepresentation is switched from one circle to another one, a “Switch Soon”icon 70 may be lightened to alert a user for a short period of time,like ten to twenty seconds. The user may tap a “Yes” button 74 toapprove it or push a “No” button 76 to object it. If button 74 isactivated, contents from a new circle may be presented after a giventime period elapses. If button 76 is pushed, contents from the currentcircle may be presented for another round. In the absence of user input,it may be considered that the user approves the change of social circle.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Thus it can be seen that systems and methods are introduced to provideimproved location-based social networks.

The improved method and system have the following features andadvantages:

-   -   (1). Location-based social circles are arranged open to all        users;    -   (2). On-site users may access a social circle conveniently via        several methods;    -   (3). Users may find and access a social circle via interactive        map;    -   (4). Messages generated by local and remote users are placed in        separate windows;    -   (5). The post quantity and number of users of a social circle        are presented as a selection guide;    -   (6). Social network is searchable on a map through keywords or        category; and    -   (7). Contents of a network which has the most users are sent to        a requester continuously for a given period of time upon a        request.

Although the description above contains many specificities, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments.Numerous modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

RAMIFICATIONS

Social networking circle as discussed above works as a platform fortwo-way communication. For instance, local and remote users may postmessages as well as viewing messages. On the other hand, a social circlemay be designed as a platform aimed for one-way communication. One-waycommunication means users may view messages, but aren't allowed to postmessages. For instance, a networking circle representing a business likea restaurant may favor one-way feature, when the business wants to postinformation for customers to view but doesn't have the manpower tohandle instant inquiries. No matter one-way or two-way, a social circlemay act as a platform of promotion and advertisement for a business.Methods introduced above may be used for social circles of both typeswhen the methods are applicable.

A user may speak to a device to enter instructions using voicerecognition techniques. For instance, after a user arrives at a place,the user may say “circle app” to a device to launch a circle program.Next a circle interface may show up on screen with one or more icons ofsocial circles presented. The user may take a look at a circle list orcircle icons on a map and say a circle name to enter a circle. A usermay also say the name of a button to activate it, which is equal totapping the button. For instance, a user may say “Popular now” and thenwatch a program presented at a popular circle which has the most users.

As aforementioned, service center may decide whether a social circleshould be arranged for a place or location. In real life, service centermay not know all needs of users. Thus, users, especially business andorganization entities, may request service center to create alocation-based social circle. And service center may evaluate it,approve the request, and set up a circle. For instance, a retail storemay want to establish a location-based circle of its own. In such acase, the store may provide location data of store to service center. Toaccommodate users' positioning or registering needs, the store mayprepare RFID tag, QR code, and/or other positioning method for users.Aside from business and organization, an individual user may alsorequest to arrange a circle for a place or a group gathering at a place.For social circles originated from request outside of service center, alabel such as “Sponsored Circle” and the name of originator may be shownin a circle interface. Display of the label and originator name may bemandatory since such kind of circle may be used for the advantage ofcertain group or person. Service center may collect fees for creatingand maintaining user-initiated circles.

When there are a lot of messages in a social circle, a user may have ahard time to find out whether other users have replied to his or herpost or a reply may be removed due to the quantity or time limit. Forinstance, if a quantity limit or time range is arranged, a reply may bewith the deleted posts which are off limit or out of range. Thus, a“Reply” button may be created at the circle interface. When there is areply, color of the button may change. A user may tap the “Reply” buttonto access one or more replies from other users regarding a post the usermade at an earlier time, and may respond to a reply to continue aconversation.

Because location-based open social circles are accessible to all users,many posts may be generated given a potential huge number of users whomay access a circle and write a message. Thus a user may be overwhelmedby lots of messages and the messages may become a burden. Therefore,setting up a presentation limit may help some users. Since most users ina location-based circle don't know each other, some may be interested inactivities which are happening and may not want to know much from pastconversations. Such users may like a quantity limit for messagespresented on a user device. For instance, if the limit is of twenty, auser device may only display twenty messages each time, which are thelatest twenty messages and are updated constantly when new messages areissued. For a user with moderate interest in what happened in a circle,a time limit may be used. The time limit may be any value. If it is ofthirty minutes, a user device may display posts generated in the pastthirty minutes without message quantity limitation. A message list maybe updated periodically as time goes by. When a user is deeply attachedto a circle, the user may choose to save all posts in a circle and haveall posts accessible at any time. For instance, a user may tap a “Setup”button, like button 44 in FIG. 12. The button may lead to a setup windowwhere a user may choose options like “Message Quantity Limit”, “TimeLimit”, and “Location Limit”. A user may enter a number for quantitylimit or a value for time limit. A time limit may be of half hour, onehour, two hours, or the maximum value allowed. A user may use a locationlimit to get circles from a certain region only. For instance, someusers may be interested in social circles from a certain location only.

In many discussions presented, “tap” as a verb is used as an action toactivate an interactive icon or button. It is noted that a tap actionmay be replaced by other moves, like click or verbal instructions whenit is doable.

Lastly, in aforementioned discussions, QR codes may be replaced by othermachine readable codes without affecting proposed functionality, such asone-dimensional bar codes, as long as the codes contain info requiredand are readable by a user device.

Therefore the scope of the invention should be determined by theappended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examplesgiven.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus having stored executable instructions, comprising: 1) at least one computing system being operable to implement a social networking system, the social networking system arranged to implement a plurality of social networks; 2) the plurality of social networks each arranged to be accessible without registration requirements; 3) the social networking system arranged to select a first social network among the plurality of social networks based on number of users who are accessing the plurality of social networks after receiving a request from a user; and 4) the social networking system arranged to send first contents to the user continuously for a predetermined period of time, wherein the first contents are presented at the first social network, the first social network has the most users among the plurality of social networks.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system sends to the user the first contents presented at the first social network for another predetermined period of time after the predetermined period of time elapses.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system stops sending the first contents presented at the first social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the first social network no longer has the most users.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system starts sending second contents presented at a second social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the first social network no longer has the most users, wherein the second social network is selected among the plurality of social networks.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system starts sending second contents presented at a second social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the second social network has the most users among the plurality of social networks.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system keeps sending the first contents presented at the first social network after receiving another request from the user.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the social networking system starts sending second contents presented at a second social network after receiving another request from the user.
 8. A computer-implemented method, comprising: 1) receiving a request from a user; 2) retrieving information about a plurality of social networks, wherein each of the plurality of social networks is accessible without registration requirements; 3) selecting a first social network based on number of users who are accessing the plurality of social networks, wherein the first social network has the most users among the plurality of social networks; and 4) sending first contents to the user continuously for a predetermined period of time, wherein the first contents are presented at the first social network.
 9. The method according to claim 8, further including sending to the user the first contents presented at the first social network for another predetermined period of time after the predetermined period of time elapses.
 10. The method according to claim 8, further including stopping sending the first contents presented at the first social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the first social network no longer has the most users.
 11. The method according to claim 8, further including sending second contents presented at a second social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the first social network no longer has the most users, wherein the second social network is selected among the plurality of social networks.
 12. The method according to claim 8, further including sending to the user second contents presented at a second social network after the predetermined period of time elapses when the second social network has the most users among the plurality of social networks.
 13. The method according to claim 8, further including keeping sending the first contents presented at the first social network after receiving another request from the user.
 14. The method according to claim 8, further including sending second contents presented at a second social network after receiving another request from the user.
 15. A computer-implemented method, comprising: 1) receiving a request from a user; 2) selecting a plurality of social networks based on the request and information about the user, wherein each of the plurality of social networks is accessible without registration requirements; 3) ascertaining which one of the plurality of social networks has the most users who are accessing the plurality of social networks; 4) determining a first social network which has the most users among the plurality of social networks; 5) sending first contents to the user, wherein the first contents are presented at the first social network; and 6) ascertaining whether the first social network still has the most users after a predetermined period of time elapses.
 16. The method according to claim 15, further including continuing sending to the user the first contents presented at the first social network after it is ascertained that the first social network still has the most users after the predetermined period of time elapses.
 17. The method according to claim 15, further including stopping sending the first contents presented at the first social network after it is ascertained that a second social network has the most users after the predetermined period of time elapses.
 18. The method according to claim 15, further including sending to the user second contents presented at a second social network after it is ascertained that a second social network has the most users after the predetermined period of time elapses.
 19. The method according to claim 15, further including keeping sending the first contents presented at the first social network after receiving another request from the user.
 20. The method according to claim 15, further including sending second contents presented at a second social network after receiving another request from the user. 